Fender Rolling for the experienced

[xVaporx]

I got the eastwood fender roller/puller, very nice piece. We tried it out today and it's not too difficult to use, though a bit tiring.

The technique we found to work the best is start at 12 o clock and apply pressure, then work side to side. Return to 12 o clock and add more pressure when needed. We found that adding tension at 10 or 2 o clock position gave an uneven roll. We introduced about a half turn of tension when we increased, found this gave the best results. This was on a S13, non heated fenders b/c we didn't care about the paint.

How well does this technique work vs others who've pulled their own? We've found a slight bit of rippling as we've gone along, but as I said, this was a beater and didn't care, just getting our feet wet. Does heating the fender reduce the rippling problem? Common sense says that it would, makes the metal more plyable, but I thought I'd ask some of the regulars here with more experience than I. Thanks!

[Hawd]

i'm scared to roll my fenders myself because I don't want to fuck up. :( I'm buying my tires for my wheels tommrrow so I need to roll them soon. From what I've read so far the best way to roll the fenders is with a hammer. To pull and roll it's best to use the fender roller tool.

[Brian]

yes heat them up.
heating them up softens up the metal (to some extent)
you can use
hair dryer - gonna taek forever
heat gun - better than hair dryer
torch - bad ass. heats it up quick fast!

you will make a lot more progree in a quicker amount of time if you heat them up first.

[andrave]

anyone here ever use a baseball bat? I have a bent fender and a louisville slugger I'm waiting to try. You can apply pressure by leverage off the tire.

[jonnnny23]

anyone here ever use a baseball bat? I have a bent fender and a louisville slugger I'm waiting to try. You can apply pressure by leverage off the tire.

me and a freind mine be going to a junk yard this weekend or next to go practice with a base ball bat. :)

Since it is just practice we can pretty much just try on any car right.

Jon

[heated heavy]

i wouldn't recommend a baseball bat for the novice. my friend did it on his civic hatch and it looks like shit cause their is lots of rippling and chipping. once you do it their is no turning back so might as well do it right if your gonna have to live with it.

[VersionS13]

Did you take any before and after pics of your fenders?

[element240]

i want to get one but i don't want to buy it... for one time use only.

does anyone have one for rent? :)

[xVaporx]

thanks for the replies, I figured heating it would be a better way of doing it. Any other input?

Baseball bats are really only for rolling (that is, the inner lip inwards), it'd take you forever and a lot of elbow grease to do a halfway decent pull with one. Even with the tool it takes a good 30-45 mins to do one fender. I shudder to think what a BB bat would take..

[TheTicTac]

a baseball bat will only roll a tiny bit...u cant get the good angle to roll them super flush against the fender like with a fender roller....

i just heat the fenders up, then angle the ball close to parallel to the ground to start out....then progress rolling and angling it flat towards the fender....

Edit: Heartwork posting from The TicTac

[nightwalker]

I heated my fenders while rolling, and it prevents the paint from cracking, but my fenders still rippled. My car was the TEST car, so we decided to go a little nuts (1.5 inch pull nuts) I got some rippling and shit, so we're going to vary the technique for the next bitch..I mean TEST car. Anyone have any tips?

[heated heavy]

definitely post some before and after pics so we can see the quality of this fine fender roller!!

[lilredstiffy]

Definitely have to heat the fenders up, you guys must be having a hell of a time rolling on cold fenders. With the tool its very easy and if you take your time it comes out beautiful. Don't try and move too fast, keep the fender warm, and use the tool- very easy once you get the hang of it. I would never try to do it with a baseball bat. :-/

There is no way it gets easier than the fender puller tool, I can roll a fender pretty quickly now, never tried to do it with a hammer or a shoe (ha) but I'm sure it takes a while.

[drift into a curb]

On a major pull, the paint may crack regardless if you're careful, but on a roll/slight pull try slicing the edge of the fender with a razor so it doesn't stretch the paint.

[msaskin]

On a major pull, the paint may crack regardless if you're careful, but on a roll/slight pull try slicing the edge of the fender with a razor so it doesn't stretch the paint.

I take it you mean cut along the length of the fender on the "lip" that's tucked under? that's a real good idea!

~matt

[drift into a curb]

Yep. Hope that helps with all these people cracking their paint.

[xVaporx]

great tips, thanks so much. I'll post pics soon!

[HyperTek]

I used a bat.. I didnt care, one of my rear quater panals is damaged anyways so it needs to be repaired, and the other is just primered. But I dont have the wheels yet to fill it. who cares, I was curious.

[s14srpilot]

Sorry to revive an old thread. Has anyone seen the option video where they rolled the rear fenders on a pink s14? It took 2 people to do it and about 10 seconds for each side. One person wedged a foot long section of a 2" diameter plumbing hardpipe between the rear wheel and tire at the front of the wheel well and backed the car up very slowly. They did this for each side. Anyways we did this yesterday with very little damage to the paint and no heat gun. However, it does depend on the offset and how low your car sits. Heads up it works!

[aznpoopy]

interesting... i'd like to see pics of the results.

[ootranceformeroo]

Jerry(heartwork) can roll a fender in about 15-20 minutes. Very nice and clean job done. No paint chips over here...

[AAA240SX]

post picz of the finished work, i haven't seen how well the fender roller actually does. my body shop uses different tools...

[DriFTech]

I have a fender roller if anyone is interested in wanting to rent it... I bought it off wheelchoice.com... we would have to negotiate on how to do so...

feel free to email me if interested... [email protected]

Thanks. Driftech

[xVaporx]

rolling a fender is easy, dont bother buying the eastwood tool for that. Its overkill. Pulling a fender is much more involved, and not easy done without the tool

[TheTimanator]

rolling a fender is easy, dont bother buying the eastwood tool for that. Its overkill. Pulling a fender is much more involved, and not easy done without the tool
that's why I find somebody with one to do it for me!
I'd like mine rolled and will pay for it if you ever in Orlando or near by. :D
I tried the bat method but I gave up to quickly, plus I don't have a bat that I can mess up :rolleyes:
Place near by said they do it for 75-100 for all 4 corners.

[jdm538]

i rolled my fender with a pipe and came out pretty well. then s14srpilot and i did it to his and same results. no heating we just left the cars out in the sun. i have 255/40/17 with 17x8 +30 and a 1 1/4in spacer, with no rubbing.